Industry News
The 2023 FIS Alpine World Championships in Courchevel and Méribél, France, finished on Sunday after 13 Alpine race events. After two exciting weeks with as many favorites winning medals and underdogs claiming the podium, it is time to honor the competition’s top performers.
Superstar of the World Championships was, without doubt, Mikaela Shiffrin, who came away with a total of three medals, one Gold and two Silver. She won the Gold medal in Giant Slalom and the Silver medals in Slalom and Super-G. Two years prior, Mikaela had walked home with four medals, but this year the American skier got disqualified in the Combined event on the last few gates of the Slalom run when she straddled the pole. This takes Mikaela to 14 World Championship medals, making her the second most successful World Championship skier. The current record is 15 World Championship medals held by Germany’s Christel Cranz, who still has the record for most World Championship victories.
On the Men’s side, the undeniable legend was Marco Odermatt, who won two Gold medals in Downhill and Giant Slalom. Winning Gold in a speed and a technical discipline is a rare feat, last accomplished in 2007 by Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal. Only three other skiers have ever achieved the Double Gold in Giant Slalom and Downhill in a World Championship: Zeno Colo in 1950, Toni Sailer in 1956 and 1958, and Jean-Claude Killy in 1968. In an interview, Germany’s former ski racer and commentator Felix Neureuther said, “Marco Odermatt is the best thing that has happened to Alpine Skiing in a while,” acknowledging the rare talent of the 25-year-old.
Thanks to Odermatt’s double Gold, the Swiss emerged as the leading nation from these World Championships with seven medals, three of which were Gold. Norway was the second most successful nation, with two Gold and nine medals. Team USA was the third most successful nation with four medals, two Gold and two Silver.
Other notable athletes with double medal hauls were Federica Brignone from Italy, who won the Women’s Combined and Silver in Giant Slalom, and France’s Alexis Pinturault, who won the Men’s Combined as well as a Bronze in Super-G. Finally, we should mention Norway’s Aleksander Aamodt Kilde and Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener, who collected two Silver medals each in Downhill and Super-G for Kilde and Combined and Parallel for Holdener.
After a brief respite for the Alpine athletes, the 22/23 FIS Alpine World Cup season continues next weekend with the Women’s Downhill and Super-G in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, and Men’s Slalom and Giant Slalom in Palisades Tahoe, CA, so celebrations for these superstars were brief but not any less joyous. Mikaela Shiffrin shared a video of her and Nina O’Brien celebrating at La Foulie Douce, probably the most renowned aprés ski club in France, showing the American star athlete spraying champagne over the partying crowd and taking a quick mouthful herself. We are sure she can celebrate even more once the 22/23 season ends and her incredible success for this season sinks in fully.
